Semiconductive photoelectric transducer



Feb. 16, 1954 W. G. PFANN SEMICONDUCTIVE PHOTOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER Filed Nov. 13, 1952?I 2 sheets-sheet 1 @HCL A 7` TORNE Y Patented Feb. 16, 1954 SEMICONDUCTIVE PHOTOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER William G, Pfann, Basking Ridge, N. J., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., Val corporation of New 'York Application November 13, 1952, serial naasten (c1. zen-63) 6 Claims.

rhis .invention relates to light responsive elecgtrical devices and more particularly to such devices wherein the active element is a body of semiconductive material containing .at least two PN boundaries.

A feature of the devices to be described is that they may be alternating-current .biased and that .they :are vser-isiti-ve lto the position ,and direction of the source Yof .energy which is used to activate them. This energy may be light in .a visible spectrum, it may .be Vof a greater wavelength extending into the infra-red spectrum, or @may extend into the high frequency Xfray and 'y-ray range. It will :be understood that the term light ,is not intended'to be limited tothe visible spectrum, but

is intended to vcover all wavelengths which may be used to energize all devices to be described.

All of the devices .to be described have two `regions of like conductivity type and an intermediate region of ropposite conductivity type .and

have the following quality in common. When .a device of this invention is in the dark, `both barriers have a high reverse resistance and the device is of high resistance for veither polarity.

If one .of these two regions .of like conductivity is illuminated `by :light of `a suitable frequency, the rconsequent Vgeneration of .hole-.electron pairs has .the eiect of decreasing .the ,reverse resistance of the PN barrier closest to that region. Since,

however, the configuration `of the .devices to be described is such that .the second barrier remains substantially unaffected, the device is lnow rectfying. ,Illuminating vtheother region of like conductivity tyne while keeping the first region in the darli, produces .a rectify/ing action vof opposite polarity. If both regions of like conductivity type are illuminated with an .ecual `armmnt of energy absorbed by each, the resistance is symmetrical, but of a much lower value `than that-oi the device in .the dark.

.It is vapparent that the devices of this .invention, ybecause of their directional sensitivity, may be utilized in many types of directional anpa- .ratus such as kfor example, servo mechanisms. Euch uses will loe-described.

In one illustrative embodiment of this invention, the sensitive .element consists of a 'body oi semiconductive material, such as 'for example,

la semiconductive material oi Group IVirom the Periodic Table according to 'Mendelyeev, ysuch as silicon or germanium. The configuration of this semiconductive body is vthat ci a vsandwiclfi 4oi .either two P regions vwith| an N region contigu ous to both .and intermediate the two. ci' al Y.Periodic ternately may .consist consecutively of N, -P and N-type regions.

The types .of conductivity in each of the regions of device-s containing silicon or germanium is produced by controlling the amounts of signiiicant impurities present in each. These significant impurities which are the one vcause of extrinsic conductivity in such semiconductive materials have been amply covered elsewhere. See, for example, my copending application Serial No. 2.555%, led November ,16, 1951. Briey these significant impurities include the P- type elements boron,v alu-.. ium, gallium land `indiunri of Group lll .and the N-type elements phosphorus, arfsenic, antimony and bismuth of Group V of the Table according toMendelyeev. lt is not intended to discuss methods of producing N .and ?type regions in the construction of the devices .herein to be described, rsince it is believed that the semiconductor art is suiciently advanced .and .that satisfactory methods are well known to those skilled in the art.

In one embodiment of this invention, the outer regions of like conductivity type, either P or N are kept very thin, in the order of mils or less in thickness.. As will be fully described the actual vdimensions of these outer regions depends on two factors to wit: the degree of transparency ci these outer regions to the wavelength of light which is used to energize them, and secondly, to the ylifetimes of the minority carriers which are .generated within these regions by the light. With devices built according to the critical speciicat'ions of this invention, it is possible ,to activate either boundary simply by .directing the light .against any part of the outer regions. BY .s0 doing, two advantages arerealized: the amount of active surface Aarea is not limited to the region immediately adjacent, the intersection of the PN .boundary with the outer surface, so that a much larger active surface area is presented and so that .critical focussing .of the light beam is not necessary. Secondly, when the light is directed at substantially a right angle .to `the outer region the intermediate region of ,the other con- .om elevation .in section .oi one il?, i

vice shown in Figs. 1A and 1B may be displayed on an oscilloscope;

Fig. 3 is a graph of current against voltage obtained from the circuit of Fig. 2 using the device of Figs. 1A and 1B;

Fig. 4 is a log-log plot of voltage against current of characteristics obtained from an actual PNP transducer such as that shown in Figs. 1A and 1B;

Fig. 5 is an arithmetic plot of current against voltage showing both a dark and a light characteristic curve for one PN junction of the device of Figs. 1A and 1B;

Fig. 6 is a diagram of an illustrative circuit using one of the devices herein to be described;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a device such as that shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, but mounted on a shaft so as to be free to rotate and seek out the light source shown;

Figs. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D and 8E are plan views, in

section, of one end of devices similar to that shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, but which devices are modified so as to minimize the possibility of stray light reaching the junction opposite the one towards which the source is directed;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of a PNP transducer configuration alternative to that shown in Figs. 1A and 1B.

Referring to Figs. 1A and 1B, the semiconductive element depicted is a two-electrode PNP conguration. Thin P-type layers I and 2 of the order of mils or less in thickness, are formed on two opposite faces of a body of N-type material leaving a relatively thick intermediate N region 3. Non-rectifying contacts 4 and 5 are made respectively to outer regions I and 2 in such manner as to leave most of faces I and 2 exposed. The device may be made of any semiconductive material, such as for example, silicon or germanium.

Fig. 1B is an end view of the same device showing outer region 2 and non-rectifyng contact or electrode 5.

In Fig. 2, transformer S supplied from a 60- cycle alternating-current source (not shown) produces an alternating bias across transducer 1. Load resistor in series with the transducer 1, and transformer 6, completes the circuit. Horizontal lead 9, vertical lead Il), and ground lead II are all connected to an oscilloscope (not shown). The results obtainable on such a circuit are discussed in connection with Fig. 3 which is an arithmetic plot of current I against voltage V for the device 'I of Fig. 2. The curves of Fig. 3

are illustrative of those which may be observed on an oscilloscope to the horizontal input, vertical input and ground connections of which leads 9, II) and II of Fig. 2 are respectively connected.

With transducer 'I in the dark, curve Iii-2 2 I 'I is obtained. This curve represents a symmetrical impedance of a high value. The line 23-22-26 represents the range of absolute values of current below that of Isn, the saturation current of the device in the dark and represents a region` of relatively low impedance. The absolute value of Iso is ofthe range of 0.45 milliampere for the particular device tested. Isn may be of a value of about 0.001 milliampere-for better junctions i in germanium and much less-in silicon.

If face I2 of transducer I of Fig. 2 is illuminated keeping face I3 in the dark so that the hole-electron pairs are generated in` the vicinity `of PN boundary I4, curve I8-22-2I is obtained (+V being the polarity for which' PN "junction I4 nearest face I2 is biased in the reverse direction). The curve I8-22-2I is asymmetric. If the encircled region only is considered, it is readily apparent that the transducer is rectifying, the low resistance polarity being face I2 positive with respect to face I3.

If face I3 is illuminated so that hole-electron pairs are generated in the vicinity of PN junction I5 and if region I2 is kept in the dark so that there is no generation of carriers in the vicinity of PN junction Ill, curve 2-22-I9 is obtained. This represents a counterclockwise flow of electrons through device 1 and indicates that the device is a rectier of opposite polarity.

If both faces I2 and I3 are illuminated equally, curve 2I1-22-2I is produced. This represents a comparatively low impedance and substantially equal flow of current in both directions. Under these conditions the device is not rectifying but rather is of the nature of a resistor. Ii? the absolute value of the voltage corresponding with the saturation current of boundary I4 or I5 when absorbing any given amount of light energy, Isl, (points 25 and 25), is exceeded in either direction, the impedance to additional current flow in that direction increases sharply. Under this condition the total electron ow across the transducer equals the total number of generated electrons which reach barrier I4 in one direction and I5 in the other. The absolute value of this limiting current, since it is dependent upon the number of electrons generated within regions I2 or i3 which reach adjacent barriers I4 or I5,V is dependent on the total number of hole-electron pairs generated and, therefore, dependent upon the intensity of the light absorbed by either of regions I2 or I3.

`leoreticallv, it would. appear that the number of generated, hole-electron pairs could be increased by increasing the intensity of the light until there is one pair generated for each molecule present in the portion of the body illuminated. In practice this limiting condition Would be of little irnportance, not only because a light source oi' that great intensity is not readily available, but more important, because of the diiculty of heat dissipation. Increasing the intensity of the source increases the temperature of the element partly due to radiant effects and 'partly due to electron activity. As the temperature increases more and more hole-electron pairs are thermally excited in both regions of like conductivity type thereby reducing the back resistance of both barriers. Such a random generation decreases the positional sensitivity of the device. It follows that the positional sensitivity of the devices herein described may be improved by keeping them at reduced temperatures.

Fig. 4 which is a log-log plot of voltage against current, the former in volts and the latter expressed in milliamperes, indicates the degree of symmetry of dark voltage-current characteristics obtainable in such a transducer. The significance of symmetry will be discussed below in connection with Figs. 6 and 7. Curve 2'I-2S which This curve Curve of the device of Fig. l2 is biased in the' reverse direction. Since Fig. e is a plot of absolute values U of voltage and current and since the deviceexhbits a symmetrical impedance in both directions, it is seen that the curves coincide. As noted from this iigure, the saturation current for the device in the dark corresponding with points 23 and 24 on Fig. 3 is oi an absolute value of about 0.45 millianipere which further corresponds with an approximate resistivity value of 1l milliamperes/cm-2. As will be discussed further on, this value of resistivity'is'not a limiting value but, rather, is several timer. greater than values of junctions now available.

Fig. 5 on coordinates oi current in milliamperes against voltage in volts is a plot of the characteristic ci one junction in the dark and of the saine junction when lighted. Curve 3i-32 was obtained from data taken from a circuit such as that of Fig. 2 with junction irl biased in the reverse direction and with face l2 unlight-ed.

This curve corresponds with curve 22-il of Fig. v

3. Curve 33-34 of Fig. 5 results when face l2 of the device of Fig. 2 is illuminated with barrier I4 biased in the reverse direction. 'By utilizing load line 32-25 representing a 500G-ohm resistor connected in series with the transducer and a `1li-volt source, it may be seen that illuminating P region i2 results in a voltage swing of almost '.7 Volts. As explained in connection with the description of Fig. 3, the limiting value 3S of current (about 2.35 milliamperes) may be increased by increasing the intensity oi the light striking the P region closest to the barrier under consideration, so that the voltage swing may be increased. to values well above 7 volts by increasing` the intensity oi the light. The voltage swingrnay also be increased by increasing the value of the resistance in series with the transducer or by increasing the bias voltage.

It willbe noted that curves Sl-sz and 33--34 ofFig. 5 do not coincide at the origin, a current l' of .about 0.20 milliampere beine indicated at zero voltage for light curve :i3-3d. This may be ascribed to the 'ohotovoltage generated by the iield of the PN barrier upon illumination. The data of Figs. e and 5 are taken from an experi-1 mental model vand are of value chiefly for the curve shapes and not for the actual values presented. With improved PN junctions which have lower values of saturation current 'and which,

therefore, show greater resnonse Vto illumination, Y

improvement of several factors of l0 over that indicated in Figs. 'e and 5. may be obtained.

Figs. 6 and. 7 will be considered together since Fig. 6 is a of anelectrica'l circuit-in which the mechanical coniiguration depicted vin '7 l,Light source 39 is shown ina position oblique to the plane of the transducer 3l. The input to the vmotor may be electrically connected to thecircuit of Fig. 6 through a direct-current amplifier whose input resistance is represented by the ,load resista ance '4I in "6. The direction ci rotation of the motor depends upon the polarity of the direct-current voltage across load. di. When the faces 'of the ltransducer are lnot illuminated, the 4directcurrent voltage component inthe load iii Ctr Gil

position of the lign, .source has .is negligible because of the symmetry shown in Fig. i as discussed above.

vWhen the light strikes only face d3 thereby generating hole-electron pairs in the vicinity of barrier #le and thereby reducing the back resistance of that barrier, the device allows a net electron flow in a counter-clockwise .direction through load fil. The direct-current voltage thereby generated causes the direct-current moe tor to rotate transducer 3l about axis 'i2 until the plane EL-4t of the transducer approaches alignment with light source t9. A lightsource at position 41 has the effect of generating holeelectron pairs in region 3A and in the vicinity of PN barrier IMA so that electron flow of the opposite direction 'is made to pass through load fl. A direct-current voltage of opposite polarity is thereby impressed across load di causing the motor to rotate in the other direction and bringing plane d of the transducer into alignment with position d?. The over-all effect of the mechanical coupling shown .in Fig. 7 as operated in the circuit of Fig. 6, is a device which will seek out the position of a source of illumination or which, more generally, will seek; out a position such that the intensity of absorbed light on either of faces 43 and 133A is equal. This may, for example, be a midway point between two equal intensity light sources placed eduidistant from the transducer.

With a transducer having the characteristics shown in the plot of Fig. 5 in the circuit oi Fig. 6 and with a value of 8 microfarads for `the capacitor ed, a value of 5,000 ohms for the load 1 resistance si with a Sii-cycle per second -volt R. M. S. voltage supplied by A. C. source 33, a rectified voltage of 1.1 volts is developed across load il when one face is illuminated with a pocket flashlight.

The photomechanical illustration depicted in Figs. 6 and 7 emphasizes certain features of the PNP photo-transducer:

l. Direct-current voltages suiiicient to cause a direct-current motor to turn over maybe generated using a simple and common source of alterhating-current power and alight source of .only moderate intensity.

'2. The polarity of the direct-current voltage generated across load il depends only upon which face is illuminated and may be reversed readily by moving the light source or by rotating the transducer about its axis.

'3. The phototransducer as used in the circuit foi'Fig. 6 has a directional as distinguished from upositional sensitivity to the position oi Athe light source. For an example of a phototransducer containing two PN boundaries in lseries opposition which is positional but not directional, `see J. N. Shire, United States 'Patent No. 2,641,713, issued June 9, 1953. Due to the .con-iiguration described in the aioresaid patent, varying the the :effect of increasing/cr decreasing the magnitude ofthe generated direct current, but since the middle re- .f in the device there described is limited to the order ci the diiusion length kof the generated minority carriers, both barriers are always eiec- 'tive and the `direction of the resultant .rectified ycurrent is always the same. Such a device is Vnot as well adapted. for seeking out a -lightgsource Figs. Se, SB, 8C, iiD and are illustrative of modiiications of the device depicted 5in Figs. :1A .and 1B designed to further enhance the di recticnal aspect of 4the devices here described.

In Fig. Snelheid-st., which may 'bemade :of r:any

7 material opaque to the Wavelength of light used, shields the intersections of PN barriers i9 and 50 with surface 5| from the light source, so that the possibility of any random light generating a voltage in a direction opposite to that which is desired is minimized.

In Fig. 8B the shield 52 takes the form of a projection from the center region 53 so that the barrier, for example 54, opposite from the iight source intended to generate carriers in the vicinity of barrier 55, is in shadow. I In Fig. 8C the same result is achieved by merely tapering the entire device thereby forming point 56 and once again decreasing the probability of incident light striking, for example, barrier 5l if the light is directed so as to produce minority carriers in the vicinity of barrier 58.

In Fig. 8D the same result is achieved by rounding all the edges of the transducer. This also has the effect of increasing the directional sensitivity of the transducer so that if light is directed at PN barrier 59, projecting portion 66 will keep barrier 6l in shadow over a larger arc of travel either of the transducer or of the light source. The modifications of Figs. 8A through 8D are merely illustrative.

In Fig. 8E shield 68 makes possible the manufacture of an eilicient PNP phototransducer from an N-type body 69 containing only one P layer.

Grinding groove 12 through the P and into the N region across the width of the entire body produces two P regions l0 and Il with N region 69 intermediate the two electrically. Contact to the P regions may be made at positions I3 and 74. The considerations to be taken into account in determining the thickness of P regions I@ and H are similar to those which will be discussed in connection with P regions l and 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a structure which has some of the characteristics of the devices of the preceding gures. To construct this device a block of semiconductive material containing one PN boundary is ground in the shape of a horseshoe so that the hollow projects through the boundary for the entire length of the boundary in one direction. By this means a device is produced containing P regions 6l and 62 and N region 63. If large area electrodes 64 and 65 are formed on the two legs of the horseshoe, the

resultant device will behave as a PNP transducer. y

The light-sensitive regions are the intersections E6 and 5'! of the two PN barriers with the surfaces of the element. Such a device does not have a large area available as do the thin region elements of Figs. 1A, 1B, 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D and 8E. In this type of phototransducer light must be directed to within the range of one or two diffusion lengths of intersections 68 or 61. Such a device is usable in any of the circuits discussed in this specification.

A discussion of some or" the considerations which must be taken into account in constructing a device such as that shown in Figs. 1A and 1B follows. The essential features to be considered are the relative thicknesses of the P and the N layers and the frequency spectrum of the illumination. First, the wavelength must be short enough to produce hole-electron pairs and second, the depth of penetration of the light should be such that these hole-electron pairs are generated sufficiently close to one barrier and at sumcient distance from the other so that the result will be a maximum generation of minority carriers in the vicinity of one boundary and a minimum in the vicinity of the other.

It has been stated that the devices of this invention are sensitive towavelengths of light ranging from the infra-red down to the X-ray and fy-ray range. The maximum wavelength and therefore the minimum energy of light which may be used to activate any of the devices herein described, depends on the semiconductive material of which the device is constructed. It is necessary to have a light with a photonv energy at least equal to the forbidden bandwidth. In germanium, the average forbidden bandwidth, that is, the average energy necessary to lift a minority carrier into the conducting range, is about 0.7 electron volt. This corresponds to a wavelength of from 1.7 to 1.8 microns. This value corresponds with a light in the middle range of the infra-red spectrum. Since, however, this value is an average, it is to be expected that it will be possible to activate hole-electron pairs with photonsl containing somewhat less than the energy represented by the average bandwidth, although in decreasing number, as the wavelength of the light is increased. Significant generation has been observed for light having wavelengths of upwards of 2.1 microns.

Temperature has an eiect on the average bandwidth of the forbidden region so that decreasing temperature results in increasing band.- width and thereby has the effect of lowering the maximum wavelength which will excite the device. Increasing temperature has the effect of decreasing the bandwidth and, therefore, of increasing the wavelength of light which may be used.

The average bandwidth of the forbidden region in silicon is about 1.12 electron-volts corresponding with a wavelength of light of about 1.2 microns (somewhat lower than that for germanium), although, as in germanium, generation of hole-electron pairs is expected with decreasing efciency with light sources having photon energies of less than 1.12 electron-volts. I-Iere again increasing the temperature of the transducer has the effect of increasing the energy of the electrons and, therefore, of lowering the minimum energy necessary to bridge the forbidden region so that the device may be activated with a light source having a wavelength greater than 1.2 microns.

The two chief considerations to be taken into account in determining the thickness of the regions of like conductivity type in, for example, the transducer depicted in Figs. 1A and 1B are:

1. The depth of penetration of the light.

2. The diffusion length of the generated carriers.

In semiconductors of the nature of germanium and silicon, the depth of penetration of light becomes significant only in the infra-red range. Below this range of wavelengths, in the visible spectrum and in the X-ray and qf-ray range it may be assumed that the generation of holes and electrons will take place only at the incident surface, the depth of penetration below the infra-red being of the order of a micron or less. The depth of penetration, however, is a factor which must be taken into account in the'lower frequency infra-red range since the danger exists that the center region between the two regions of like conductivity type may be substantially transparent to this range of Wavelength and so that the effect of shining a light toward one surface or the other will cause a generation of holeelectron pairs in the vicinity of both boundaries. In such a situation the effective directional iiow of .current across the device will not be substantially equal to the number of generated carriers which reachv the boundary immediately adjacent the region toward which the light is shown,v but will be this value less the number of. carriers generated in the vicinity of the'opposite boundary.

The above minus quantity may be significant, for example, where an infra-red light source off 1.8 microns wavelength is used. with germanium. The absorption distance of light of this wavelength is 10-1 centimeters or about if? mils. Since this absorption. distance is defined as the depth. of penetration to which are of the order of only a very few mils in thicliness, the thickness of the N region be at least two diffusion lengths. 'Where the light source has a Wavelength of 1.5i' microns,a center region f approximately u2 centimeter' is indicated for germanium having a lifetime of 1GO microseconds f or less. This would result in an electron flow of a factor eight times greater in the desired direction as in the reverse direction.

The depth of penetration in germanium drops oi rather rapidly, however, so that for a wave;

length of about 1.5 microns; the depth of penetration is little more' than 0.001 centimeter or approximately G'.2lr`n'il. The otherconsideration to be taken into aecount in determining the optimum thicknesses of the three"regionsof a 'device such as that de picted in Figs. 1A and 1B, is'thejdiffusion length 'of the; generatedic'arriers', that the 'maximum distance." from' 'the' PN. 'boundariesl at which a generation' ofhole'Jele'ctron pairs will-result in 'minority Icarriers reaching the boundary. Where thefreduency range-of the --light source isthat 'of the 'visible spectrum for higher so -th'at lit f may be considered that" the"-hole-electrcn-pairsare generated directly at the incident surfacai-t--is advisable that---the'puter regionshave a .thickness nq greaterthan-'cna diiusion length.

Since a diffusion length is also defined as .that

distance ythrough which the generated carriers .will .'travel,` a. thickness equal to the diiiusion length will result in only slightly fewer .than oneethird ofthe generated minority carriers reaching the barrier. Increas ing the thicknessoi. the .outer .regions of' like conductivity type results .-in. the .penetration of only l n e) minority carriers where n is the number of diil fusion lengths. Where the-thickness is two diffusionlengths only about one-eighth. of. the gem erated carriers will produce electron flow across .the transducer. It should, however, be kept yin mind. that the discussion relating to diffusion length is on the. assumption of surface genera@ tion ci. carriers and random travel thereafter. if. generation occurs within the body, diffusion lengths are shorter since some of the carriers travel away from the barrier. Furthermore, the barrier itself acts as a sink so that more carriers reach it than would be otherwise indicated. Grading the barrier, thereby building in a field, and increasing the bias voltage also canse more carriers to reach the barrier.

rilhediffusion length in semiconductors of the nature oi silicon and, germanium is a function of lifetimeoi generated carriers, the diffusion length increasing with the lifetime. For the exact rela.- tionshi'p andr illustrative values of lifetimes and diifusionlengths for injected carriers in germanium, see the Physical Review, volume 81, pages 537-638. Since, however, an error was made in the subscripts in the equations as reported in that article, the rind-ings will be discussed briey.

The diiusion length or distance through which it may be expected that of the injected carriers will travel, may be obtained from the equation LPs/15m (11) The above equation is used for determining the diffusion length of minority or N-type carriers in P material and is the equation to be used. in computing these values in a PNP device such as depicted in Figs.v 1A. and 1B. In the above equation y l L`..=the diffusion length as above dened in unitsoi centimeters.. D11-:diffusion constant in units of `cruz/sec. Tn-:lifetime in seconds.

Fig. 2'"of the reference above cited'i's accurate with the vexception that the subscripts N and P should he interchanged in the Equation 1' forms a'ppx'aari'ng inthe 'upper left'- and upper rightL hand corners of the plot of Fig.'2 of the reference.

These subscripts represent the minority generated carriers -so that the n subscripts should be used when generation takes place in the P region'.

Experimentall'y determined diffusion constants for germanium' and'silicon follow:

where, as indicated above; Dn is the diffusion constant Vfor N-type carriers in the P region and Dp is the difusion constant for B-type carriers in the N region.

From the equations of the plot reported in the above cited reference to the Physical Review.

it is seen that `a carrier lifetime of about' 10 microseconds results in a diusion length of about Q.B millimeter or about l2 mils. |lilhis value of Ysince outer regions of like conductivity of the order of veryr few mils may be formed, for

aeaccs example, by diifusion of significant impurities, heat treatment, bombardment, remelting, alloy bonding or doping. Therefore, carrier lifetimes producing diffusion lengths far in excess of the minimum available layer thicknesses are readily obtainable.

Since all the considerations to be taken into account in determining the thicknesses of the outer regions of like conductivity type and the intermediate region of opposite conductivity type have been discussed above, it is seen that any suggestion as to actual dimensions is merely illustrative. As an example, it is seen that a PNP device such as that depicted in Figs. lA and 1B of a total thickness of .l centimeter and upwards and having P regions of a thickness of the order of 4 mils and downward will prove satisfactory where the wavelength of the light source is in the infra-red range of 1.8 microns or more down to the order of a hundred angstroms or less as in the X-ray and 'y-ray regions. Where it is expected that the wavelength of the light source will approach the maximum wavelength which still contains sumcient photon energy so as to generate hole-electron pairs, it is advisable to keep the distance between the PN boundaries at a value of at least about 0.2 centimeter. rThis value in a specimen having outer regions of like conductivity type of thicknesses of the order of very few mils, will produce a sensitivity decrease of the Vorder of only per cent due to the transparency of the semiconductive body to the infrared range.

Where the specimen is of very high purity so that the carrier lifetime produces a long diffusion length, little loss in emciency is realized byincreasing the thickness of the outer regions of like conductivity type; for example, where the carrier lifetime of N-type carriers in P-type germanium is of the order of 500 microseconds, the diffusion iength, as worked out according to Equation 1 above, is of the order of .2 centimeter. Combining high lifetime with a light source of a wavelength of the order of 1.8 microns permits a still thicker outer region so that in germanium using a light source of 1.8 microns on an outer P region, the absorption distance of .l centimeter may be added to the diffusion distance of about .2 centimeter for a high lifetime specimen resulting in a device having an outer region of a thickness of about 3 centimeter.

With the considerations which have been enumerated above, it is readily seen that a design equation allowing both for carrier lifetime and wavelength of the light source can be derived. If it be decided that an efliciency of the order of per cent is acceptable and where the device is constructed of germanium with P-type conductivity outer regions, the design would vary from minimum center region thicknesses of the order of .2 centimeter and maximum outer region thicknesses of the order of .3 centimeter for a specimen having N-type carrier lifetimes of the order of 500 microseconds and with wavelength light source of the order of 1.8 microns down to center regions of minimum thicknesses of the range of microns, and outer regions of the order of a few tenths of a millimeter for specimens having lifetimes of the order of l0 microseconds and with the light source of wavelengths of the order of hundreds of angstroms. Where the purity of the material which is being used is not .determinable or is not uniform and where the wavelength of the light source isV to be variable through the visible spectrum and into the infrared spectrum, a good standard dimension of the intermediate region is of the order of .2 centimeter and that of the outer region, the minimum available.

Although it is known that every photon of light energy absorbed in a semiconductive material such as germanium or silicon has the advantage of generating one hole-electron pair providing that the photon energy is of at least the minimum values described elsewhere in this specication, one factor other than carrier lifetime should be taken into consideration in determining the eiiiciency of the light responsive device. It is known that a certain number of generated hole-electron pairs will recombine so that the minority generated carrier is not brought into the conduction band. It is known that recombination in materials such as germanium and silicon takes place both in the body of the material and the surface, and further, that in the untreated material the rate of recombination at the surface is far in excess of that within the body. Therefore, there have been developed and there are known to the art, several types of surface treatment designed to prevent this surface recombination. In the construction of devices designed in accordance with this invention, it is advisable to use one of these treatments. Two examples are the superoxol etch of United States Patent No. 2,542,727, issued December 29, 1949, and the etching process of R. D. Heidenreich, United States Patent No. 2,619,414, issued-November 25, 1952. In addition and in conjunction to one of the surface treatments to which the two references are set forth, a surface of the material may be treated so as to increaserthe lifetime of the generated carriers and, therefore, so as to enhance the sensitivity of any one of the devices herein described. Attention is directed to the antimony oxichloride treatment described in the copending application of J. R. Haynes and R. D. Heidenreich, Serial No. 175,648,1led July 24, 1950. The etching process of the above-mentioned United States Patent No. 2,619,414 has the eiect of making the surface of the Qdevice shining and, therefore, decreases the ratio of absorbed to reflected light. To mnimizefithis effect it; is conceivable that reflection reducing treatments such as the surface deposition cfisalt will also increase the sensitivity of a photoeflectric transducer constructed in accordancejwith this invention. l,

Although most of the description contained herein has been directed to devices constructed of germanium and in which the outer regions are P-type and the intermediate-,regions N-type, it is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to this configuration. Any one of the devices described herein may be constructed of any semiconductive material and further, the two outer regions may be either N or P providing the intermediate region is of opposite conductivity type.

The invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments and since certain modications and equivalents may be apparent to those skilled in the art, this description is intended to be illustrative of, but not necessarily to constitute a limitation upon, the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A photoelectric translating device comprising a body of semiconductive material having therein a zone of first conductivity type between and contiguous with a pair of zones of a. second conductivity type, terminal connections to said outer zones, and means for causing light to be absorbed within a distance of no more than one diffusion length from a junction of at least one of said outer zones with said middle zone, said light being of a frequency range of a, minimum wavelength of about 100 angstroms and of a maximum wavelength corresponding with about the average bandwidth of the forbidden region of the semiconductive material, the shortest route between the two regions of the second conductivity type through the region of first conductivity type being at least about two absorption lengths.

2. A photoelectric translating device as described in claim 1 in which each of said pair of outer zones is of a maximum thickness of about one diffusion length.

3. A photoelectric translating device as described in claim 2, but in which the semiconductive material is germanium containing significant impurities and in which the light is of a Wavelength of the range of from about 100 angstroms up to about 1.8 microns.

4. A photoelectric translating device as described in claim 2, but in which the semiconductive material is silicon containing signicant im-v purities and in which the light is of a Wavelength of the range of from about 100 angstroms up to about 1.2 microns.

5. A photoelectric translating device as described in claim 2 in which the semiconductive material is an element selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium.

6. A photoelectric translating device as described in claim 2 in which the semiconductive material is an element selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium containing significant impurities and in which the intermediate region is of a thickness of at least 0.2 centimeter and in which the pair of outer regions are of a thickness no greater than a few mils.

WILLIAM G. PFANN.

No references cited. 

